Four Letters (The Lust List: Devon Stone #3) (3 page)

One trip to a doctor. One concussion recovery. One sexy Devon insisting I stay with him at the Stone mansion—better security, he says. And here I am, on a Monday evening, basking in the sun on the Stones’ private beach. I’m a lucky girl. Not only is Nat long gone, running from her own crazy crimes, but I have Devon Stone—my Lust List Number Three—all to myself.

I adjust the top of my bikini and drink from my frozen daiquiri. The sound of the waves threatens to lure me to sleep. I’ve never felt more relaxed—

“Hey.”

I scream and jump out of my chaise lounge, my heart pounding.

“Whoa. Did I scare you?”

Devon stands next to me, and even though I see with my own eyes that it’s just him—that I’m not in any danger—my pulse still races. “No, not scared. You just…just surprised me.” I can’t get past this skittishness. Everything startles me, like I’m expecting to be attacked again at any moment.

“Right. Like I believe that. Come here.” He wraps his arms around me, and I feel myself calming down.

I’m safe. Everything’s okay.

Devon’s hands press against my back, and the warmth from his fingertips rushes to my skin, sending heat through my body.

“Dinner’s waiting inside. You hungry?”

He looks down at me and I steal a kiss. “Definitely hungry, but not for food.”

“Yeah?” He leans in close to my ear and the warmth from his breath makes me shiver. “I can take care of that. Again.”

Without a word, I turn and lead him toward the steps of the veranda. We walk past the pool, and I step under the outdoor shower to get the beach sand off of me.

Devon’s watching, so I make a show of it—make it worthwhile for him. I start the water and step underneath the rainfall-like stream. The water drenches my hair, droplets dripping down my half-naked body. I turn away from Devon knowing damn well he’ll be staring at the back of me. The water rinses over my curves, and I run my hands down my hips, looping a finger on each side of my bikini bottoms. I tug just enough to show him some extra skin and then release the elastic and rub my hands back up my sides and through my hair.

One second, I’m alone under the water. The next second, Devon is pressed up behind me, kissing my shoulders, running his own hands down my waist.

I turn to him, holding back my urge to laugh as his button-down shirt and jeans soak up more and more water. This is a sexy moment. I can’t let my own giddiness ruin it. Instead, I kiss him, long and hard, pushing my body into his. His hands find their way to my ass, and then he brings one around the front and teases my most sensitive spots with his fingertips. I step up on my tiptoes and moan into his ear. A growl escapes Devon, and he holds me tighter. We need to get inside. Now.

“Mr. Stone,” someone interrupts from the back door. “A phone call for you.”

Devon gives an exasperated sigh. “We’ll continue this soon.”

He turns and goes inside, water dripping off his clothes.

I grab a towel and wrap it around myself, trying to ignore the wanting in my body. I go upstairs and change into dry clothes. Back downstairs, I find the dining room table covered in a spread of delicious-looking food. A bright, colorful salad, a tray of fresh fruit, a basket of steaming French bread, roasted potatoes, blackened fish, and a bottle of wine. This world of luxury is like a nonstop vacation. To think, Devon grew up with this.

Sitting down, I pour a glass of wine, stalling as I wait for Devon. I snag a strawberry and nibble on that, wondering who’d be calling him. He seems so busy all the time, yet, he doesn’t really have a career. He helps out at the family law office on occasion, but I’ve yet to see him show any real passion for a job. I want to know what drives him, what he wants to do with his life. He seems to hide that ambitious side of him, but I see it. He’s dedicated to his family’s business. He’s loyal to whatever they need. Maybe he just hasn’t found his role in it all. It must have been hard, watching his father give Kaidan everything.

But didn’t Devon do it to himself? His family is completely aware of the drug issue. They probably made the right choice not giving him the keys to the Stone legacy.

I gulp. I’m definitely not delving into this topic over dinner. I can imagine how quickly it can take a turn for the worse.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. Maddie’s been checking on me often, so I pull it out grateful that we can chat for a minute before dinner.

A text waits for me, and when I see it, I almost choke on the piece of strawberry in my mouth.

No, this can’t be happening.

It’s definitely not Maddie.

It’s Nat.

It’s not just a text message either. A photo’s attached. A photo of me and Devon from mere moments ago—under the outside shower, kissing.

And the message that goes with it:

You can’t keep me out, bitch.

My breath catches in my throat. My hands shake. This isn’t over. She’s not gone. And we’re not safe here like Devon assured.

I shove my phone back in my pocket and clench the edge of the table with both hands, trying to steady the trembling.

My head is feeling better. The bruises are fading. Fear and anger is finally leaving me more determined to be stronger, rather than crippled with anxiety.

And now this?

Devon walks in, freshly changed into a dry t-shirt and cargo shorts. He looks relaxed and…and happy. I can’t ruin what’s been happening between us. Things are so good. I can’t let Nat drive a wedge between us. I
won’t
let her.

“Everything okay?” I ask, not wanting him to ask me the same.

“Yeah. Family drama. You know how it is.” He takes a seat and starts filling both our plates with our dinner.

I’ve only been here a couple days, and I definitely know what he means about
family drama
. The Stones are either coming or going in an urgent rush or they’re preparing for court dates, meeting with publicists, fighting on the phone with an array of people. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to know all the details. It would leave me stressed out. But it seems like the Stones have enemies, and from what I can tell, I’d never take on a battle against a Stone. I’m lucky to be on their good side.

Halfway through our meal, Kaidan wanders in and collapses in one of the empty chairs, picking up a chunk of fresh bread and chomping into it.

“Help yourself,” Devon says with a sarcastic tone.

I haven’t seen the two of them together much. Devon says they’ve been fighting lately, so every time Kaidan comes home, I try to find a way to distract Devon. Have I mentioned how much I hate conflict?

“Need a drink?” Devon asks, this time without the condescending attitude.

“The weekend I had? I need two.”

Devon grabs the wine bottle, but Kaidan waves a hand. “Nah. I got this.” He gets up and walks to a buffet table lining one wall. He opens a door to reveal a small liquor cabinet. After dropping a couple ice cubes into three lowball glasses, he fills each with a couple shots of amber liquid. He balances the three glasses in a hand, and places one in front of each of us.

“Thank you,” I say. I take a gulp letting the heat of scotch settle my nerves. A second gulp, and I don’t give a damn about Nat. I got the guy. She’ll never have a chance, and Devon won’t let her get near me again.

An awkward silence looms between all of us until Devon speaks first. “Have you two formally met?” He points in my direction.

Kaidan stares into his glass. “We’ve crossed paths.”

There’s a coldness in both their voices, and my own pulse quickens, expecting a time bomb to go off between these two dysfunctional twins. Any minute now.

“What’s going on with that T.R. deal?” Kaidan asks his brother.

I sit back, sipping at my drink.

Devon finishes a bite of his dinner and looks at me. “He’s talking about Turbulent Ray. You heard of him?” I shake my head no. “Well, you will. Once I convince him to sign a deal with us.”

Us?
Is Devon working with Kaidan now?

Devon continues, “He’s a hip hop artist. Young, incredibly talented, incredibly egotistical.”

Kaidan takes over, “So that’s when Devon gets involved. We send him after the tough recruits—the ones who need to be carefully manipulated.”

“What? Is that your specialty or something?” I ask Devon. Him doing all this for the label is news to me, but it explains why he travels often.

“Something like that,” he says, giving me a wink. “Most people fall for my charming ways.”

I playfully kick at him under the table. “I bet they do.”

“Speaking of T.R., I’m leaving in the morning to meet him in Atlanta. I’ll have the contract signed before I get back. Trust me.”

Kaidan doesn’t look worried. This really must be a normal thing for them. Call me intrigued. I thought these two wanted to kill each other.

“Wait, you’re leaving tomorrow?” Some warning would’ve been nice.

“It’s just for a day. I’ll be gone early in the morning and back twenty-four hours later. You can just hang out around here until I’m done. Mark’s around if you want to go anywhere, and the staff will take care of the rest.”

That doesn’t sound so bad. It’s just a day in this crazy place. And if Devon’s on the other side of the country, Nat won’t be able to mess with him—unless she also has a private jet.

“This guy’s going to try to suck everything out of you,” Kaidan says, lifting his drink. “It’s like they don’t understand or appreciate how much we invest in them far beyond handing them an advance.”

Devon laughs, “They don’t know how record labels work.”

“You must have stories,” I say. “What’s it like going after these people?” By now the scotch has turned most my body into a jello-y cloud. Even the text from Nat isn’t bothering me. I could kick her ass any day, as long as this liquid courage is involved.

“Devon went to this one band,” Kaidan starts. “This rock band who’d been producing all their stuff independently for years. They had a huge fan base, they made music that sounded truly original—none of that ripoff shit we have soliciting us all the time—and we wanted them on our label. We heard they were hard to please—cocky after proving they could succeed without the big industry backers. So we sent Devon, and…” Kaidan holds off on the punch line, instead finishing his drink and standing up to get more. “Go ahead, D. Tell her what they got you to do.”

Devon rolls his eyes, not nearly as amused as Kaidan. “Turns out, they were huge gamers, like role playing video game addicts. They made me join their online guild and battle orcs all night.”

Kaidan bursts into laughter behind me.

“You can’t be serious,” I say.

“Oh, I’m serious. The lead singer played a warlock in the game. He kept yelling at me all night to drop something called the Rain of Fire while he—what was the word he used? While he
aggro-ed
the boss.” He shakes his head. “I swear I heard the incessant clicking of keyboard keys in my sleep for days after I got back home.”

Now I’m laughing along with Kaidan. I mean, come on. Just picturing all that is priceless.

“You two wouldn’t be laughing if it had been you.” He plucks a cherry tomato from the salad and launches it at Kaidan’s head.

Kaidan calmly dodges it and returns to his seat. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Like hell it wasn’t. Care to finish the story for me?” Devon goes back to eating, anticipating what Kaidan will say next. Something tells me they share this story more often than Devon would admit.

Kaidan sits up higher in his seat turning toward me. “So Devon makes it through a twelve-hour nerd marathon. And just as the sun is rising, and the promise of a new day embraces him—”

“Cut the poetic shit,” Devon says.

Kaidan smirks, “They break it to him they’ve already signed to Rev Records.”

“Ouch,” is my only reaction. I try to hide the urge to laugh. It’s still so ridiculous.

“I think he secretly enjoyed himself,” Kaidan pretends to whisper.

“Right, asshole. That shit is right up my ally. You know? As soon as your girlfriend gets here, I’m coming up with some hilariously awful story about you. Deal?”

“Good luck with that. She’s not coming. But that reminds me.” Kaidan looks at me again, clearly drunk. “You’re not using Devon to get famous or to steal his money or something, correct?”

“Of course I am.” I say with a perfectly straight face. Liquor has me feeling confident and goofy, but I quickly realize I shouldn’t be joking. Kaidan’s not amused. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were being serious. I’m not using Devon. Why would you think that?”

“Seems to be going around…”

Now things are awkward. “Well, I’m not like that.” I glance over at Devon, but he’s hardly reacting. Is this normal conversation to them?

“Just checking,” Kaidan says. But his tone has shifted, like he’s off in the distance thinking about something else—or
someone
else. Is he having problems with Hayley?

“Not to pry, but you and Hayley make a great couple. You guys okay?”

Instead of answering, he asks a different question. “How many chances are too many? I mean, how many times can someone mess up or act like an asshole before it’s too much, and there’s no fixing things?”

Again, I can’t tell if he’s talking about himself or Hayley or even Devon. It sounds like a familiar situation. Devon catches me glancing over at him and raises his hands up in defense.

“What? Come on. Kaidan’s a much bigger asshole than me.” He gives a long pause. “Okay, most of the time… Sometimes. But we can’t help it. We’re twins. We share the asshole gene.”

I simply smile at him. He’s been sweet lately, but I’m not letting him off the hook that easily. If he’s trying to be better, he can keep doing it for a while. It takes time to form a habit, after all, so it also takes time to break one.

“You just have to try,” I tell Kaidan, knowing Devon will probably take this to heart too. “Be genuine. If you care, show it. It doesn’t have to be that complicated. And if you—or whomever—put in the effort, then it doesn’t matter how many chances you give them. Each one will be worth it.”

I finish my scotch and move back to my wine. It feels like we’re a couple of old friends at this point, so I have the courage to ask the next question. “My turn. You two.” I point to each of the guys. “What the hell’s up with you guys? I’ve never seen you get along. All you seem to do is fight and resent each other.”